The study of quality of life of extremely low birth weight infants: an early life report of 122 cases

Abstract

Objective To study the survival rate, cause of death and the incidence of complications of extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants. Method Clinical data of the ELBW infants admitted in our hospital between December 2013 and November 2016 were retrospectively analyzed. The cases were assigned into five groups based on gestational age (GA) or birth weight (BW) to further analyze the survival rates among each group. According to the time of death, the cases were assigned into two groups (death within 7 days or after 7 days) to analyze their direct death causes. ELBW infants were categorized into three groups according to GA (< 26 weeks, 26-27 weeks and ≥ 28 weeks) or into two groups according to birth weight (< 750 g and ≥ 750 g) to analyze the incidence of complications within 14 days or after 14 days. Result A total of 122 ELBW infants were enrolled in this study. The mean GA was 27.6±2.1 (range of 22-33) weeks, mean birth weight was 849±112 (range of 525-995) g. GA and BW were both positively correlated with the survival rate. Among all the studied cases, 43 were dead cases. Within these 43 cases, 13 of them died within 7 days. The top 3 causes of death of them were neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), severe asphyxia and pulmonary hemorrhage of neonatal. The other 30 cases died after 7 days, while the top 3 causes of death of them were sepsis, bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) combined with pneumonia and neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). The incidences of complications of all 122 ELBW infants within 14 days of hospitalization were as follow: ELBW infants with BW 0.05). Conclusion As the increasing of GA and BW, the survival rates of ELBW infants increase significantly, and the incidence of complications decline significantly. The complications related to ELBW infants during hospitalization should be prevented to improve the early survival quality of them. Key words: Infant, extremely low birth weight; Survival rate; Cause of death